A Rare Case of Pancreatic Head Splenosis Diagnosed by Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound

Introduction

Splenosis is an acquired condition of auto-transplantation of viable splenic tissue in various anatomical sites that may occur after splenectomy; it is usually asymptomatic and incidentally diagnosed. Despite the presence of an accessory intrapancreatic spleen is not uncommon, intrapancreatic splenosis is a very rare condition that may cause differential diagnosis problems. The diagnostic method of choice is nuclear scintigraphy (RD Fremont et al. South Med J 2007; 100: 589 – 593).

We present a rare case of intrapancreatic splenosis, presenting at US as a hypoechoic mass in the pancreatic head, correctly diagnosed using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).